Category Archives: Open Source Software

Ubuntu 10.04 is available from the Ubuntu homepage in various flavors. You can chose the one best suited to your need but the problem here is that most of them are ISO files and you will go around looking for a CD to burn the ISO.

Let me tell you, that is not necessary. You can install Ubuntu from a portable hard-drive or a thumb drive also. All you need is a simple application named Unetbootin which is available for Windows and is built into Ubuntu.

In Windows

Go to the Unetbootin SourceForge hosting page to download it. The download is sized at under 500 KB and has options to create a bootable drive for installing Ubuntu from a downloaded ISO. It can also download Ubuntu and create the bootable disk automatically.

In Ubuntu

Go to the Create Startup Disk option under System->Administration->Create a USB startup disk. Here you will find a simple interface explaining it all.

These are the two methods to create bootable Ubuntu disks in both Windows and Ubuntu. Now that you know how to install ,get hold of a thumb drive, download the ISO and follow this installation guide.

With the Ubuntu 10.04 release, software developers are responding quickly to this. Ubuntu Tweaks 0.5.4 has been released for Ubuntu 10.04 and it has tweaks specially built for Lucid.

The homepage describes Ubuntu tweak as,

Ubuntu Tweak is an application to config Ubuntu easier for everyone. It provides many useful desktop and system options that the default desktop environment doesn’t provide. With its help, you will enjoy with the experience of Ubuntu!

A new improved feature is the ability to choose the background and logo on the login screen. Otherwise, Ubuntu tweaks allows you to set hot regions on the screen edges which can be used to perform compiz operations, install more software not found in regular repositories and tweak Ubuntu settings to the fullest. It also allows easy adding of nautilus scripts. This makes it the best Ubuntu tuning software.

If you want to know more, head over to the Ubuntu tweak website and check it out.

With the release of Ubuntu 10.04, feature tours, installation and other videos have started springing up. You can read about them all you want but nothing works like a visual.

The 10.04 Lucid Lynx has some nifty new features and this video will tell us about most of those features in details.

Although this release is in high speculation it is not as perfectly designed as the version 9.1 was. This is because of some core changes which will need time for a better overall integration with the overall environment. Lets hope for the best with the next release.

Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has already crawled into my hard dive and boot sector. To tell you the truth, I just let it in. This week in FOSS Friday, we will talk about Ubuntu and some other topics, whose thunder Ubuntu stole with its launch.

News

Ubuntu Release

Ubuntu 10.04 is here. Get Ubuntu by download from the server today. The latest version features removal of HAL, better GPU support and better looks. Get more release and download information. Already have the CD? Install Ubuntu following a guided walk-through.

Ubuntu CD

Ubuntu Shipit is Open. Order your free CD at Shipit. You will need a Launchpad account and get your CD within 10 weeks of order.

Sony gets a class action Lawsuit for removing Other OS Support

An individual from San Francisco has filed a class action lawsuit against Sony for removing the Other OS support with its latest firmware for PS3. This is a bold move by an aware consumer and should be supported. Get more on this at Wired.

Tips

Ubuntu Installation Walkthrough

Are you planning to install Ubuntu on your system? This detailed walk-through will take you to installing Ubuntu on your computer safely without destroying any data. Follow the steps given here.

Ubuntu 10.04 is out and it is here to stay for another five years. If you have not downloaded Ubuntu already, you can see this post to choose the best edition suited to your needs and get your hands on a copy.

Although, if you have downloaded your copy of the ISO, it is time to install Ubuntu. This step by step guide will take you through the installation procedure. To start with, get hold of a 4 GB thumb drive and create a boot-able image with Unetbootin. Now, plug the thumb-drive into your USB port and restart the computer.

Set boot device to the USB drive from BIOS options and you are good to go.

Let the live system fire up. Now, click on the install icon on desktop and proceed as shown below.

Select a desired language to install Ubuntu.

Select your region and and time zone.

Select your keyboard layout. You can alternately, detect your keyboard layout if you do not know it already.

Select a partitioning option. Unless you want to format all the hard drive and install Ubuntu afresh, select the last option and proceed.

Select the partition to install Ubuntu into and click on the change button.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS has just been released and is available for download at the official website. We have been quick in covering the release and are probably the first to cover this release. As we have already told you, there are two options to get Ubuntu. One is through the ISO download and other through the Shipit CD ordering service. Read the release coverage here.

If you have any confusion as to which distro you should opt for, here is some quick help. Ubuntu is available in three editions.

Ubuntu Desktop Edition

This one is for regular PC users and simple everyday computing. It has all the basic applications for common tasks and has got the looks and feel everyone around is talking of. Basically, this version is for regular people with home PCs and for Ubuntu beginners. You can use it full fledged as your primary OS. Download page goes here.

Ubuntu Server Edition

Ubuntu server edition is another version focussed on the server capabilities like better speed, uptime and RAM support. This edition is for web-administrators and Ubuntu will roll out certification for this soon. Download page goes here.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

This one is for those who are interested in trying out Ubuntu on their netbooks. This release has an extremely fluid and fast interface and is worth checking out. Download page goes here.

Get your Copy Of Ubuntu

Sized at just around 700 MB, the ISO can be burnt to a CD or you can create a bootable USB drive following this tutorial.

Order Free CD

The free CD order takes quite some time to arrive which ranges from 7 to 10 weeks. Order this if you do not have a fast internet connection. Order at this page.

Things to know about the Latest Version

This latest release of Ubuntu has some cool new features and has been developed for a long time now. It is appealing in both visual aspects and performance. There are new versions of most software like Firefox and Empathy. If you are not aware of this, you can get an overview of some exciting new features included in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx final release.

Along with that, Ubuntu 10.04 also features a Ubuntu Manual which will guide you through the installation process and makes using Ubuntu fun. The manual is only 4.5 MB in size and is highly recommended if you are beginning with Ubuntu.

Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Desktop Edition will be here soon and has a list of some exciting new features. If you have ever used Ubuntu before, you will be able to tell, this is the best Ubuntu distro ever. Here are quite a few reasons to use this latest product.

The boot speed brags

A test conducted by Phoronix in December 2009 reported that Ubuntu 10.04 should break another boot barrier in its product lineup. The 10.04 beta version booted in 24 seconds on a Dell Mini 9 as compared to 54 seconds of Karmic Koala. Since then, Ubuntu has included the latest kernel and has also applied a Moblin patch. Moblin, as we know boots extremely fast and Ubuntu will get a share of that boot speed. Another improvement, the removal of HAL will be a major factor behind boot enhancement as HAL takes up a considerable amount of time to load and is the biggest boot hog apart from NFS.

The MeMenu is all about you

The new MeMenu designed my Mark Shuttleworth included in the panel will appeal to all social networking junkies. Ubuntu has never been this right. With a larger section of Internet users, at times, being there for the sole purpose of socializing, the MeMenu will completely rock. MeMenu provides an integrated access to all you social channels on Digg, Twitter, Facebook and good old messengers like MSN, Google Talk and the Stone Age IRC.

Gnome improvements

Gnome in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid is of the latest version and it has a new and improved Nautilus which looks classy. New features have been included in Empathy and Tomboy notes can now be synchronized to the cloud. Copy-pasting of rich HTML is also supported now. The full changelog is available at this page.

Ubuntu One Music Sync and File Store to make you feel at home

Ubuntu One is Ubuntu’s desktop integration for online services. It lets you sync your files, directories, bookmarks and contacts anytime and anywhere. Now, access your files on the fly and purchase and listen to music from 7Digital right within your favorite music players with Ubuntu Music Store. The PC is now all about Personal Computing.

Better nVidia Support for viewing pleasures

Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has an improved support for nVidia graphics drivers. The Nouveau video driver is the default on Ubuntu with Lucid and this new driver has better resolution detection. This driver is being developed upstream and this will ensure better support. Drivers already supporting this are available as nvidia-current (190.53), nvidia-173, and nvidia-96.

Apart from this, there is a new kernel based on the 2.6.32.9 version and the all new KDE SC 4.4 for Kubuntu. The version of popular software products like Firefox is also expected to be seen.

We have talked of the Ubuntu Manual earlier. Finally, the Ubuntu release team has announced the Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx manual.

This manual goes by the title of “Getting Started with Ubuntu 10.04″. This manual is targeted at all Ubuntu users but can be of special interest to Ubuntu beginners. It will help them save those extra clicks and get things done easier and faster.

It is more like a walk-through where you are taken through a series of steps. There are no scary technical details in this manual. The manual is divided into chapters and it proceeds from a beginner to go up to an advanced level. It includes common troubleshooting problems and is available in over 50 languages.

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro and is the easiest to use. It is focused more on users than developers and the manual goes a further step in extending user support. With the manual release coming just hours before the release of Ubuntu 10.04, I would say Ubuntu is on a perfect roadmap.
(Via: OMG!UBUNTU)

Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx is just a few hours away and Canonical has thrown in another strong reason to use Ubuntu. Canonical has revealed its plans of software vendor support for this release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 10.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) release which is supported for a long period after release. This usually ranges from three to five years. This LTS will be a driving factor behind application development for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx.

Jane Silber, the CEO of Canonical said,

A strong and varied ISV ecosystem is critical for Ubuntu to thrive and grow both on user’s desktops and in the world’s datacentres. We expected Ubuntu 10.04 LTS to be popular with existing and prospective software partners, but response is fantastic. Users considering switching to Ubuntu or upgrading to 10.04 LTS will be encouraged by this industry support and reassured that they can use many of their favourite applications on what we are sure will become their favourite operating system

Marten Mickos CEO, Eucalyptus remarked saying that Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud is seeing considerable acceptance in the industry. Dell has already announced its wish to support the Server version of Ubuntu 10.o4. Many others like IBM, VMware and Adobe are expected to follow suite.

You can see a list of applications and testimonials from the industry at this page Canonical has put up.